>Well, first off, according to the ADA, Type 1A is Immune Mediated, and Type
>1B is idiopathic, which means there are no auto-immune markers. This form is
>considered to be restricted primarily to blacks, but I don't think they know
>all there is to know about it!
>
Kayla was diagnosed with Type I when she was 3. She tested negative for
all antibodies and had no markers, yet she was definitely type 1. Her
beta cell production was less than 10% at the time. Looking back, she
was showing signs of diabetes for 4 months prior to diagnosis. The
signs just got steadily worse and were misdiagnosed over and over again
(by the pediatrician and parents - even though my dad is type 1, I still
didn't connect the dots!). One Friday afternoon I called the
pediatrician's office and told them that something was wrong, but
Kayla's symptoms were still mild, so they told me to wait and bring her
in on Monday. She ended up going into mild DKA over the weekend and was
throwing up by Sunday night. (I still was clueless.) When we took her
in first thing Monday morning, the first thing they did was a finger
stick. She was only 343, but with large ketones, yet they still thought
we caught it early. I don't agree. From all of her symptoms, she first
started showing signs 4 months earlier. The doctors were confused when
her labs came back because even though she was clearly in DKA and beta
cell production was so low, she still had none of the antibodies or
markers for diabetes. They were reluctant to say it was diabetes, but
the only thing that 'fixed' things was insulin. I guess her diabetes
would be labeled idiopathic, but Kayla is white - guess she just messes
up the ADA's definition!
Kasey
mom to Kayla, 9yo, pumping 4 years
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